


Careless Whisper

by IlluminatingSceadugenga



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Lance nicknames his pokemon, coran is a Good Man, i cant believe thats a tag, i really hope you like this giftee, i wrote this in 2 days lmao i want to die, just a little, secretsanta2k16, so many tumblr headcanons went into this, this was supposed to be klance and then my hands would not comply so now its preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 04:43:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9055876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IlluminatingSceadugenga/pseuds/IlluminatingSceadugenga
Summary: Lance wondered if they'd pay him for getting blown up. Then again, they were already paying for his hospital stay.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crowlord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crowlord/gifts).



> MIK UR MY BRO N ILU SO I HOPE U LIKE THIS

“Do you...”

 

_ “Hi, my name’s Lance! I’m gonna be the best pokemon trainer in the world!” _

 

No. He restarted. 

 

_ “Haha, really? You look kinda scrawny to me.” _

 

_ “I’m not scrawny! And I’m gonna be the best pokemon trainer ever, just you watch!” _

 

_ “Yeah, well, my name’s Hunk and I’m gonna be the best Pokemon  _ Breeder _ in the world!” _

 

“Sometimes, I...”

 

_ “Hunk, Lance, this is Pidge. He’s going to be Turtwig’s trainer. Please treat him well.” _

 

_ “Of course, Professor!” _

 

“...wish I’d never gotten involved,” Lance whispered. Shame burned his eyes as he said it, weighing down on him even more than any rock ever could. Beside him, Coran shifted along the wall, grunting as he put more weight into holding up the stones that threatened to crush them. The outside world was a faint, muted murmur, surreal against the aching in Lance’s body. How long had they been like this? Too long. Just like all of this, the past months of his life, fighting alongside his friends against a terrorist organization that literally wanted to destroy the world. All of this, just because he  _ insisted _ they break into Valley Windworks, just because he could never let go of Keith, just because when everyone else was steadfastly committed  _ he _ remained, heart aching, longing for the  _ good old days, like those ever were real- _

 

“...I understand, Lance,” Coran said quietly and he jolted, shook out of his self-depreciating thoughts by the surprising response. “I know you think you’re alone in this, but I- I do understand.”

 

“But- Coran-” How could he understand? Coran was the veteran of them all, working against Team Galactic before most of them were even born. He had been the right-hand man of the first Anti-Galactic team’s leader. And even now, retired from active duty( _ most,  _ Lance’s brain supplied, _ reminding him of where they quite literally stood _ ), he still was the first one up, the first one to volunteer to do anything to help the team, the one who maintained all their safe houses and funds, their food supplies, even their laundry. Never stopping, no matter how tired he was. Beneath them, the injured Azelf made a weak, pained sound.

 

“I know I may not seem like it,” Coran admitted, “but I have my doubts too, from time to time.” He struggled for a moment to draw out a Pokeball, releasing his Milotic. Their space was already cramped, empty space nonexistent with the massive, beautiful creature released, but its coiled strength lessened the load, and the cool feeling of its scales beat back the fog in their minds. Milotic curled around Azelf, cooing softly.

 

“When I was younger, it was much easier to throw myself into the fight,” Coran continued. “But as the years went by, the novelty of what we were doing faded. When I- when  _ we _ lost Alfor, I-”

 

Coran was silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice had the same quality Lance’s had carried only minutes ago- something quiet and vulnerable, like a snail trying to hide in its shell. Lance’s heart pounded- not because of the tiring of his body, but because he suddenly realized that what Coran was telling him he’d likely never told anybody before, or ever would again. For a moment, the pain in his body vanished as he found himself only able to focus on Coran, his face, and the words that came out of his mouth.

 

“It was hard. To keep going, after Alfor left. We were at the height of our primes, and maybe- maybe that’s why it had to go downhill from there.” Coran sucked in a sharp breath. “But I couldn’t stop. Allura was just a child then. She- somehow she could just tell, when she saw me. She said to me, ‘Father’s never coming back, is he?’, like a statement, not a question. Everything began to collapse with his passing. I was so busy trying to keep it all together that I- never really had time to mourn.” he dropped off to a whisper. His voice became thick as he continued.

 

“We didn’t even have a body to bury. It had been lost in the rubble. All I could hold onto were his tags. The doctors say I refused to let go of them, even sedated. On my hands, there are still scars from where they cut my skin. I picked at them, so they- so they wouldn’t fade away. I still wear one of them, around my neck. Allura has the other one. But even that- what’s a tag, compared to a person?” There were the tears, gathering in the corners of Coran’s eyes.

 

“Even now, I still... there are still some nights, when I wish I could leave. Disappear, to some exotic place that doesn’t know war, or terrorism. I long for the days past, where Alfor was still here and Sinnoh still stood strong together. I wish I could leave. But I can’t, because- I have to be here. For Allura. For the team. For you. So- yes. I understand. There’s nothing wrong with wishing for better days, Lance.”

 

Lance couldn’t find the strength to respond. To hear the words from Coran’s mouth- well, it had robbed him of his own. Coran had always been a pillar to the team- hard, when necessary, soft, when needed, and to hear such words of emotion come from him? Lance couldn’t help it- tears came unbidden to his eyes, one slipping out to slide down his face as his heart contracted with the visualizations of just what it had been like for Coran, all these years. This was Coran, who unflinchingly had always been there for the team, for  _ him _ , in all his moments of weakness. Even in the early months, even when Allura had given up on the team, Coran hadn’t. Suddenly his heart swelled with a kind of respect he’d never felt before- not what he felt for Shiro, survivor of underground horrors, or Pidge, who’d thrown their life away just for the chance to get their family back, Not like Hunk, who could be so kind, yet so uncompromising, in the face of hardship, or Keith, who never backed down or gave anything less than 100%. Not even like Allura, still so young, yet so dedicated to the cause. For the first time for all the months he’d known Coran, Lance felt like he really  _ saw _ him, for who he was; a survivor, weary and battered by loss but still going, still doing what he could because his heart wouldn’t let him do anything else.

 

“Coran,” said Lance.

 

“ _ Geo _ ,” said the Geodude crawling through one of the larger holes in the collapsed wall. Lance’s heart  _ shook _ from the feeling of going from such a tender, vulnerable moment to one filled with such absolute terror. They’d run out of time. Team Galactic was sending in the hounds.  _ Perhaps literally _ , Lance thought to the faint sound of dogs barking in the background. But he didn’t have time to dwell on that, as the Geodude crawled its way in further and began to glow, began to expand, and no, no, Lance knew what that was-

 

But so did Milotic, Coran’s most trusted, his partner Pokemon, and it was on the Geodude in a flash, an aptly placed Hydro Pump pushing the Geodude out and far away before it could explode. As it was the sound of the explosion fell heavy on their chests and ears, dulling the sound of screams and cries outside. Coran didn’t let any of that slow him, however, whirling into motion. With dexterity that made him the quiet envy of the team he swiftly recalled Milotic, barely waiting for the water to finish pouring from its mouth. With barely a second elapsed he called out Drifblim instead. The room suddenly felt much smaller with that Pokemon, almost a seventh the height of Milotic, floating above Azelf. Azelf too began to struggle, trying to rise. In the collapsed cave that had been so still for so long it felt almost frenetic, weighing on Lance’s nerves like an anvil. Amidst all the motion he stood still, and maybe that’s why he noticed it. The second Geodude, crawling in between their feet. With the moment he caught its eyes the world slowed to a standstill, just Lance and the Geodude. But the world could not slow down for long, and the Geodude, knowing its time was up, began to seize up just like its predecessor. There was no time; Coran was all too absorbed in telling his Drifblim what to do the moment they broke free, Azelf just in managing to stand. What could Lance do? He-

 

Ripped Coran from the wall, no time, flung him to the other side of the cave, please, please, Drifblim, use Protect, reached for Azelf, reached out, the shimmering sign of Protect closed in before him, the unmistakable heat seared at his back, Azelf cried out, no, no,  _ please- _

 

\---

 

Lance woke up to a familiar face. In all honesty, it was rather startling to slowly drag himself to consciousness, only to find he was nose-to-nose with a Kadabra, squatting over his bedridden body. Lance tried to jump up and shout in surprise, but the pain that seized his body the moment a single muscle twitched left him unable to do more than squawk and stare with bleary, cross-eyed confusion. The Kadabra snorted in his face. Somehow, Lance knew it was laughing at him.

 

“You’re Allura’s, aren’t you?” he said softly. His throat strained with even that weak effort, and as Lance became more awake he also became more aware of the aches of his body. His entire being throbbed and stung. The pain in his back especially was nearly unbearable, like a branding iron lay beneath him. It itched like he hadn’t showered in days. Bu then his mind presented his last memories to him, and his mouth grew a little dry. Ignoring the pain, Lance slowly lifted a hand and rubbed Kadabra’s face softly. His arm trembled with effort, but the normally moody Kadabra didn’t push him away, so he counted his blessings and left himself rest there. Lance looked around with eyes still adjusting to seeing things other than the back of his eyelids. He was in a dark hospital room. On his left was a shuttered window from which faint light seeped through. His eyes were drawn to movement to his right; as he watched a stern-faced, haggard doctor pushed his way into the room, a Blissey dogging his steps with considerably more energy. Allura’s Kadabra was gone in a flash- literally, Teleporting away to who-knows-where. The doctor looked up at the flash, then sighed and paged through his clipboard for a moment. The Blissey beside him scurried over to Lance’s bedside and began plinking away at all the monitors Lance hadn’t realized were there.

 

“Lance McClain?” he said, eyes still on the clipboard.  _ Yes, _ Lance meant to say, but instead-

 

“Is Coran okay?” he asked instead. The doctor didn’t even pause.

 

“Agent Coran is fine. He’s on bed rest for the next day or two to recover from the cave-in, but he suffered no harm in the explosion. You, on the other hand, bruised, suffered major internal bleeding, and have extensive scarring on your back that will never fully heal.” The doctor looked up at Lance’s pale face with a critical eye. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

 

The doctor’s words settled around Lance’s throat in a vice-grip, stilling his heart and lungs. Some of it surely bled into his expression, because the doctor seemed to take pity on him. He sighed and relaxed his severe expression into something softer. The Blissey made a cooing noise and grabbed one of Lance’s hands.

 

“It was rough, kid, but you’re going to be okay. I’ll be back in a bit with your medical orders, but until then there are some people here to see you, alright?” The Blissey seemed to take that as its cue to patter back over to the doctor’s side, who held out the door for it and then followed it through with a soft salute back to Lance. Lance looked at the closing door with a loss for words. Silence resumed rule in the room for just a moment before the door flew open again and,

 

“LANCE!” Hunk cried as he burst into the room, then,

 

“Quiet, you idiot, you’ll overwhelm him!” Pidge hissed, elbowing Hunk in the side as they followed him in. Close behind them were Shiro and Allura, and very last, almost like an afterthought, Keith slid in as well. They all smiled at him, even Keith, joy obvious on their faces. Lance couldn’t help it- he teared up a little at the sight.

 

“Hey, guys,” he said, voice still straining.

 

“Hey, Lance,” Shiro replied. “It’s good to see you’re alright. How’re you feeling?”

 

“Like I was blown up,” Lance answered honestly. “I’m not really enjoying it.” His answer strained the smiles of everyone watching, but Shiro leapt in before he could backpedal.

 

“What’s important is that you’re okay,” Shiro said, coming forward to put a hand on Lance’s bedside. “You’re going to be stuck here for a while, but you’re going to make a full recovery.” Lance smiled back at him faintly, but the vagueness surrounding the circumstances made him pause.

 

“But...” Lance said hesitantly, “what...  _ happened _ ? How did I get here? I mean, people don’t really...  _ survive  _ point-blank explosions.” 

 

Shiro traded glances with the others, seemingly at a loss for words.

 

“We’re at Hearthome Medical, Lance.” Allura stepped in to fill the silence. “As we understand, Azelf teleported you and Coran out of Lake Valor just as the explosion occurred, so you only suffered...  _ minor _ damage.” Lance snorted at the thought of his current condition being  _ minor _ , but at the same time it was sobering to realize that he nearly had died.

 

“And Azelf...?” Lance asked, fearing the answer. The grim faces of his companions was answer enough.

 

“By the time we got there, Galactic was gone,” Hunk said. He rubbed his arm. “And so was Azelf.” Lance’s heart dropped at the news. After everything they’d done... the mission was a failure.

 

“It wasn’t just you ‘n Coran, though,” Pidge cut in. Hunk made an ‘abort’ gesture, but Pidge just rolled their eyes. “What? He should know. Lance, Galactic attacked Lake Verity and Lake Acuity too, like we thought. Uxie and Mesprit were gone before we could even get there. You and Coran were the only ones that actually GOT to a Lake before it was too late.”

 

“Yeah, and we were so helpful,” Lance grumbled. Pidge glared at him.

 

“Azelf knows you were trying to help, though, so-”

 

“Alright,” Shiro said, verbally and physically stepping between the two. Evidently he’d decided nothing good would come of this conversational direction. “Pidge, it’s alright, Lance, regardless of the success of the mission you did well and likely saved Coran’s life. Be happy for that, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Lance acquiesced after a moment’s pause. He didn’t like how his stomach twisted at the thought of Coran lying still on the ground, beaten and bruised. Luckily, the team didn’t let him lay on the thought for long; Hunk jumped onto the awkward silence with zeal, saying,

 

“Oh, Lance, you’re not gonna believe it, they have  _ actual _ spices here, one of the cafeteria ladies is from Alola and she brought her own set, they have the  _ best _ spicy Poffins here, and-”

 

Hunk always made things better.

 

\---

 

Two months after his hospitalization Lance woke up to Allura softly shaking his arm. It was nearly dark out, the last streaks of orange sunset nonexistent in Lance’s hospital room. He’d been healing well; Allura had pulled some strings and had him put on a fast track that had him seeing Blisseys and Audinos daily to heal as smoothly and quickly as possible. Because of that his body felt like Apollo’s- his ribs were back in tip-top shape, and his internal organs had kindly ceased their bleeding. Even his back was healing remarkably. The skin was still sensitive and tight, and every time he tried to lean over(something the doctors still demanded he not do) it felt like it was going to split over his shoulder blades, but it wasn’t oozing pus like it had been for so long, and it had scabbed nicely. His back still looked like a mess, as it always would, but it was undeniably getting better with every day. Lance shivered to think of what it had felt like the first few weeks, even on pain medication. Lance smiled at her tiredly.

 

“Hi, Allura,” he said. She smiled back at him softly. The fading light from the window behind her illuminated her. She looked angelic to Lance’s eyes, as always.

 

“Hello, Lance,” she replied, “how are you feeling?”

 

“I feel great!” Lance said energetically. It was kind of a lie, but for Allura? It was nothing.

 

“Okay, and how do you  _ actually _ feel?” Or maybe it was.

 

“I feel fine, Allura,” he said. “I might not be at a hundred percent right now but I feel  _ loads _ better than I did a couple of months ago.” Her smile grew larger at the news.

 

“That’s good, Lance, I’m glad.”

 

Allura didn’t add anything else, instead just letting silence reign. After a few moments, however, Lance couldn’t take it. As much as he loved to hope otherwise, he knew Allura wouldn’t come to him all alone just to see him this late in his hospital stay without something she wanted him to do.

 

“So, uh... what’s up?” he said, then kicked himself internally. Arceus, only his voice cracking could have made that worse.

 

“Well,” Allura said. She didn’t meet his eyes. “I was hoping you felt up for a mission.”

 

“You need me?” Lance asked in surprise.

 

“Only if you’re up for it, of course.” Allura said quickly. The hasty manner in which she jumped in made Lance nervous.

 

“...What, exactly, do you need me for?” Lance questioned apprehensively.

 

“Well, I- we- I-” Allura bit her lip, incredibly conflicted.

 

“We need you to break into Galactic Headquarters again,” Allura said, just as Shiro slammed open the door and stormed into the room.

 

“Absolutely not,” Shiro said. Everything about him was hard- his voice, his eyes, the lines of his body. He was a man who would not budge to anything less than a miracle.  _ Too bad those happen a lot here _ , Lance thought. His eyelids were heavy but he forced them to stay open. He had to hear this. Allura switched over from Lance to Shiro effortlessly, like she’d been expecting this.

 

“Shiro, I agree with you, but we don’t have any other options. Lance is our best choice.” Allura rubbed her temples. Lance recognized that look. She’d have a migraine by the end of the night.

 

“Not injured! We don’t need the best, we just need good enough!”

 

“The  _ entire _ organization is mobilizing, Shiro, we need EVERY man! The Galactic hack wiped our blueprints of the building from the system, we  _ need Lance- _ ”

 

“In what situation do we  _ ‘need’  _ a man stuck in a hospital bed to BREAK INTO a  _ terrorist headquarters, Allura, he can just TELL us the layout- _ ”

 

“He’s been cleared for general duty! We can finally end this, Shiro! Don’t you want to finally see this over with? We can finish off Team Galactic-”

 

“BREAKING INTO A HIGHLY SECURE BASE WHERE HE  _ WILL  _ ENGAGE THE ENEMY IS NOT  _ GENERAL _ -”

 

“HE’S DONE IT BEFORE, HE-”

 

“Uh, guys?” Lance coughed.

 

_ “WHAT?” _ Allura and Shiro shouted together, spinning to face Lance. He blinked back at them, drowsiness a faint memory. It took them a moment to recognize what they’d done- when they did, they deflated like twin balloons, faces apologetic and tired.

 

“Sorry, Lance,” Shiro sighed, dragging a hand over his face.

 

“I’m sorry, Lance, what?” Allura asked.

 

“I can take the mission,” Lance stated.

 

“No, you can’t!” Shiro said, exasperated.

 

“Yes, I can!” Lance argued back. “I feel fine. My back’s tight, but I’ve been cleared for moderate exercise, right? I’ll just be extra careful. My team can watch over me. Besides, this is important, right? I know we’d never need a hospitalized guy to do this otherwise. I can take this.” Lance’s calm, determined words cut through all of Shiro’s hard lines like a hot knife through butter- Lance watched as he deflated in on himself, hot air rushing out, becoming something softer and more reserved. Even Allura swallowed hard at his words.

 

“...alright.” Shiro stepped back, rubbing his face roughly. He looked up to stare Lance in the eyes. “But the moment you can’t keep up, get out of there.”

 

“Yeah!” Lance said, instantly agreeing. He’d been going crazy stuck in this hospital- wait.

 

“‘Can’t keep up?’” Lance quoted.

 

“This isn’t a solo mission,” Allura supplied. “Unlike your previous infiltration, this mission is high-stakes and incredibly risky. So, Keith is going as well.”

 

Something in Lance’s head twisted at the information; on one hand, the thought of Keith, the perfect soldier, following him around with judging eyes like he was a dying puppy made bile rise in his throat. On the other hand, he couldn’t deny the little flip his stomach did at the thought of leading Keith around, knowing more than Keith, Keith _having_ to rely on him-

 

Shiro cleared his throat. Lance had the decency to blush, just a little. He might have drooled a little bit.

 

“T-that’s fine,” Lance said. Allura made a strange sound, like she was muffling a snort.

 

“Thank you, Lance,” she said. “I’ll get you your gear and orders.”

 

“Of course!”

 

\---

 

“I can’t believe this,” Keith said. If it was possible, he would have drawn his crossed arms even tighter across his chest. Unfortunately for him, no matter how hard he tried he still had to operate under human limitations. His arms couldn’t twist any further. Lance scowled at him.

 

“Thanks for the warm welcome, buddy,” he said, climbing into the car. While normally he would have taken shotgun, he slid in the backseat to rifle through the bags of gear Keith had dumped back there. All he had on him were his five lovely pokemon, a shoulder-holstered tranq gun, and the skin-tight black turtleneck and baggy brown cargo pants he’d asked for. Keith scoffed, like he was offended Lance wasn’t agreeing with him.

 

“You’re  _ injured _ , what’re you supposed to do?” Lance sneered at him through the rearview mirror as Keith pulled out onto the street.

 

“Maybe make sure you don’t walk right into the cafeteria full of grunts? In case you forgot, I’m the only person who’s actually  _ been _ in the building before, so you  _ need _ me.” Lance gloated momentarily at the look on Keith’s face. Man, if the sound of grinding teeth could be audible. “Admit it, you  _ need me _ -”

 

“Is that what this is about?” Keith asked incredulously as he drove onto the freeway. “Dude, we’ve already been over this.”

 

“Over what?” Lance snarked, momentarily leaving his rummaging to stick his head into the front seats. Keith rolled his eyes and drummed his fingers. He’d obviously been spending too much time with Pidge lately, in Lance’s opinion.

 

“I don’t think you’re dumb, Lance,” Keith stated, like he’d said it a hundred times before. “I just think it’s a horrible idea to have someone who’s supposed to be off active duty for another five months lead a mission where we’re gonna have to fight.”

 

Lance thumped back to the backseat, speechless. Really, it winded him to hear Keith, the guy who always thought actions spoke better than words, say such words of him. For a second, a tender moment(on Lance’s side) settled over them. Just for a second, however, because Lance, of course had to say,

 

“But I’m the leader. You said it. You said it!” Keith groaned and gripped the steering wheel harder.

 

“You’re an idiot.”

 

\---

“Lance...”

 

“Go!”

 

Keith nodded sharply and sprinted down the hallway at Lance’s command. His feet slammed into the ground with surprisingly little noise. It was only when he was too close did the Galactic grunt he ran towards react, turning just in time for a tranquilizer dart to the shoulder. The grunt went down with a gurgle, clutching at their shoulder. Keith wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he straightened; they’d been doing this for the past five corridors, and while it wasn’t exhausting, Keith was getting a little hot from the off-and-on sprinting. Behind him Lance jogged to catch up. He peeked in the door the grunt had come out of.

 

“Well?” Keith said impatiently. Lance shushed him.

 

“Hold on, okay?” he shooed Keith to the side and peered in the room, craning his neck to look at every nook and crany.

 

“...it’s the next one,” he finally said. “Let’s go.” Keith jumped on the balls of his feet but Lance gave him no instructions, just jogged down the hall. Keith followed close behind. He eyed the door they came to.

 

“This doesn’t look like a lab,” he said. Lance shook his head.

 

“That’s because it’s not a lab. Listen.” Slowly, carefully, Lance pushed on the door, cracking it open just an inch. He peered through the space and swore under his breath.

 

“What?” Keith whispered.

 

“Look,” Lance said, pulling back. Keith slid up and looked through himself. His jaw dropped, just a little. Beyond was a massive auditorium filled to the brim with grunts. They had evidently found one of the side doors just next to the stage, because he couldn’t see any more than the first foot or so that curved out. However, he could certainly hear.

 

“...Today, we make history as the ones who will recreate the world,” Zarkon was saying. Just hearing his voice filled Keith with rage. He quickly withdrew, bumping into Lance in the process. Lance closed the door quietly.

 

“I knew the halls were too empty,” Lance said. “They’re already mobilizing. We have to tell Allura-”

 

“We can’t!” Keith hissed, frustrated. He balled his fists, digging his nails into his palms. “We have to maintain radio silence. We haven’t even reached the objective yet.”

 

“...” Lance was silent for a minute. Finally, he sighed. “You’re right,” he said. He reached down to his belt and grabbed a Pokeball instead of his radio. Out hissed Mismagius, floating above their heads with a faint purple light.

 

“ _ Mag~ _ ” the specter crowed.

 

“Maggy, can you tell me when all the feelings in this room start moving?” Lance asked, gesturing towards the auditorium door.

 

“ _ Magius. _ ” Maggy said. Lance nodded, then turned to Keith.

 

“Let’s go.” 

 

“Right.” Keith nodded grimly and off they went, jogging as quickly down the halls as they could without echoing feet. 

 

It seemed Team Galactic had only decided to staff the hallways by the entrance, because they encountered no grunts guarding the halls other than the ones they’d already met. Finally, Lance drew to a pause before a pair of nondescript doors. The only indicator there was anything important behind the doors was the scanner off to the side- most doors employed card readers, not print scanners. It didn’t seem to bother either Lance or Keith, however.

 

“Cactus,” Lance said, calling out his Cacturne.

 

“Roserade, Sneasel,” Keith said, doing the same.

 

“ _ Cactor! _ ” Cactus said, bumping its head against Lance’s shoulder. Roserade and Sneasel raised their arms.

 

“Good to see you too, buddy. C’mon, I need you to Needle Arm this door.”

 

“Sneasel, Beat Up on my mark.” Sneasel’s claws began to glow as it nodded. Lance and Keith exchanged looks.

 

“...now!” They said. Cacturne struck from above, Sneasel from below, and the door buckled before flying into the room it was supposed to close off. Inside a handful of scientists jumped to attention, but Keith didn’t let them do anything else.

 

“Sleep Powder!” He called, pulling on his breather. Next to him, Lance did the same. The scientists inside didn’t stand a chance against the rapidly moving clouds of spore.

 

Of course, not everyone in the room was a scientist. Lance called out his Crobat to blow away the remaining spores, and clearly still standing, clearly waiting for them, were Saturn and Charon, Team Galactic Commanders. Saturn especially watched them with steely eyes as they walked into the room.

 

“Welcome,” he said, a little sardonically.

 

“Saturn,” Lance growled in reply. His back throbbed just looking at the man who’d led the Lake Valor attack. He smiled fiercely back at Lance, but otherwise didn’t speak again. Charon did instead, laughing.

 

“If you’re here to save the lake Pokemon from us, I’m afraid you’re too late,” he said, cackling. Lance’s stomach dropped, and beside him Keith gasped.

 

“You mean-”

 

“Oh, they’re fine. We just don’t need them anymore.” He gave a twisted smile. Lance suddenly realized that in the three pillars behind Saturn and Charon were the lake Pokemon, curled into fetal positions and illuminated in a sickly, teal light. “And even as we speak, the grunts march out to do our work.” Maggy cried out at that, confirming his words. Lance’s and Keith’s hands dropped to their Pokeballs as they prepared to fight. Beside them, their released pokemon growled.

 

“Calm down,” Saturn said. Despite his calm tone Lance’s skin still crawled at the sound of his voice. “We’re not going to fight you. You can release them, if you wish.”

 

“Yeah? And why not?” Keith asked, not moving his hands from where they rested, ready to call out his remaining Pokemon with just a moment’s notice. Saturn raised his hands, shrugging.

 

“As Charon’s already said, we don’t need the lake deities anymore. We’ve already made our Red Chain. There’s no point in fighting you, beyond stalling you for just a couple pointless minutes. Something we’re doing excellently anyway,” he muttered the last bit, inspecting his nails. Keith growled at him, but his words caught in Lance’s ears. “But look, I’ll do it for you, okay?” As they watched, Saturn reached down onto the console before him and pressed a button. With a hissing noise the pillars behind him popped open, spilling steam into the room. The three Pokemon within nearly tumbled out, wobbily levitating above the floor. Mesprit and Uxie vanished just like that, but Azelf dallied for a moment, staring at Lance before teleporting away.

 

“...Red Chain?” Lance pressed. Despite having their main objective accomplished, the words made him pause. They rang faint bells in his memory, but he couldn’t remember where he’d heard it before. Saturn smiled at him.

 

“The Red Chain; made from the gems on the tails of the lake deities. It can be used to control a single Pokemon without binding it to the confines of a Pokeball.” He grinned viciously as he added, “or more, with the right technology.”

 

Multiple pokemon...? They’d have to be powerful, but if it obviously wasn’t the lake deities they wanted them for, then what other beings were there that rivaled their strength and numbers...?

 

Beside him, Keith made the connection. “You’re going after Dialga and Palkia,” he accused. Lance gasped at the thought. Dialga, the controller of time, and Palkia, master of space... between the two of them, nothing was impossible. Even recreating the universe. Saturn and Charon grinned.

 

“You’re so smart, Keith,” Saturn said. “Yes. We’re going to summon Dialga and Palkia at Spear Pillar. And when Cyrus takes control, we’ll recreate the universe to our pleasing.”

 

“We won’t let you!” Lance said, stepping forward. Saturn didn’t seem phased.

 

“Oh? But it’s already began, Lance. In fact, if you don’t hurry, you’ll miss the main event.” Dread settled into Keith and Lance’s veins at Saturn’s words; they exchanged hurried glances and began to step back.

 

“Yes,” Charon said, “I’d suggest you run as  _ fast _ as you can.”

**Author's Note:**

> lmao got that ending like vld s1


End file.
